Eric Taylor
:"Every man at some point in his life is gonna lose a battle. He's gonna fight and he's gonna lose. But what makes him a man is that in the midst of that battle, he does not lose himself." ::-'Eric Taylor', State Eric Taylor is the head football coach of the East Dillon High Lions in Texas. Widely considered one of the top coaches in developing quarterback talents in the state, Taylor led the Dillon Panthers to a state championship during his first year in 2006. Season 1 Prior to the start of the 2005-2006 season, Taylor was promoted from QB coach to head coach. Many locals, including the voice of Panther football Slammin' Sammy, suggest that Taylor only got the promotion over longtime assistant Mac McGill because of his relationship with star quarterback Jason Street. Taylor had been Street's personal QB coach since the quarterback's pee wee days and has developed him into an All-American quarterback. Along with Street, Taylor commands one of the most talented Panther teams in recent memory including record-setting junior tailback Smash Williams and bruising fullback Tim Riggins. But expectations to win immediately crumble as Street suffers a career-ending spine injury in the season opener that leaves him paralyzed from the waist down. Taylor is forced to turn to seldom used sophmore Matt Saracen for the rest of the season. Taylor takes a liking to Saracen, partially out of a necessity to turn him into a capable quarterback, but simultaneously becomes a very important father figure in Saracen's life, whose own father is in Iraq. As Saracen comes into his own and the Panthers battle through some early season losses, Taylor generates interest in some D-1 schools looking for coaches. TMU becomes Taylor's chief suitor, and tempts him with the prospect of fulfilling his dream of coaching Division 1 football. Mud Bowl A week before the state semifinals, a chemical spill near Dillon High forces Taylor and his team to find an alternate site to host the game. Upset at potentially losing home-field advantage by playing at a neutral field near their opponents, Taylor opts to build his own field from scratch on a local cow pasture. As the game progresses and the make-shift field degenerates into sludge due to a rain storm, the players become involved in an old-fashioned, grind 'em out battle. The Panthers prevail over the Brant Vikings 14-8, and Taylor acknowledges Street's help with Saracen by offering Jason a job as assistant coach. State After accepting the job at TMU and guiding the Panthers through the playoffs, Taylor and his team arrived in Dallas for a showdown with ex-quarterback Ray "Voodoo" Tatum and the West Cambria Mustangs. But at state, news of the coach's imminent departure surface and threaten to derail the team. The distraction proves to be too much as Dillon finds itself at a 26-0 disadvantage in the first half. During halftime, Taylor delivers one of his most impassioned addresses, telling his team that, "This game is not over. This battle is not over." His galvanizing speech inspires the Panthers to a dramatic last second comeback win to capture the Texas High School Football State Championship. Season 2 After accepting the position of QB coach at TMU, Taylor moves to Austin, not wanting to uproot his family. But being away from home proves to more difficult than expected and Taylor soon finds himself yearning to be back. Meanwhile, the Panthers flounder under new head coach Bill McGregor and key booster Buddy Garrity looks to bring Taylor back. Taylor accepts, but trouble arise as he attempts to resign from TMU. Furthermore, upon his return to Dillon, Taylor learns that his old job was not secure as McGregor plans on fighting his early termination. Having successfully regained his job, Taylor faces difficulties as he tries to mend a broken relationship with Saracen and Williams while simultaneously learning that he would be making less money even after winning a state championship. In an effort to add supplementary income, he accepts the responsibility of Athletic Director under the assumption that the title held no real duties. Instead, he is immediately bombarded by requests from the other sports branches that do not receive funding that football receives. He delegates the vacant role of head women's volleyball coach to his wife, which creates jealousy between his daughter Julie and Tyra as her friend becomes the star volleyball player. Jumping The Gun After a tornado rips through neighboring town Lions|Laribee], Taylor extends a hand out to the rival team by allowing them to use the Panthers field for practice. For two weeks, tensions run high as the rival schools confront one another daily. During the game, Laribee head coach Donald Dickes tackles Riggins on a would-be game-winning touchdown run, causing Laribee to forfeit the game. Afterwards, Taylor confronts Dickes and the Lions head coach reveals that he is under a lot of stress as his wife has only 3 months to live. May The Best Man Win Following Smash's suspension, Taylor guides his team into the playoffs without his star senior. However, the Panthers lose in the state semis when Williams returns and tears his ACL. Season 3 With the graduation of Smash Williams, Taylor moves Riggins to tailback. Taylor also gains additional talent with the arrival of freshman phenom JD McCoy. Widely touted as the second coming of Jason Street, McCoy threatens to take over Saracen's spot. Taylor reassures the senior, "You're MY quarterback." But following an early season loss and the continued pressure from McCoy's overly involved beer mogul father Joe, Taylor concedes and hands the starting job to JD. This causes a rift between him and Saracen, much to Taylor's displeasure. Eventually Saracen blossoms into much needed help at wide receiver and with the trio of Saracen, Riggins and McCoy, the Panthers head back to the state championship. Hello, Goodbye Although Williams graduated, his injury during the previous playoffs cost him his scholarship to Whitmore University. Relegated to his job at The Alamo Freeze, Williams all but gives up on football and his dream of the NFL. Taylor does not however, and spends his own personal time to work Williams back into shape. Taylor eventually secures a walk-on tryout for Smash at Texas A&M. Prior to taking the field, Taylor pulls Williams aside and tells him to "listen closer than you've ever listened to me." With Taylor's help, Williams gets accepted into A&M as a walk-on. Underdogs Taylor successfully takes the Panthers back to the state finals, but this time the tension is between him and his starting quarterback McCoy. Needing to call Children's Protective Services after witnessing an altercation between JD and his father, Taylor and his wife's fragile friendship with the McCoy's ends bitterly. Furthermore, JD loses focus and the Panthers trail 27-0 as they headed into halftime. During the half, Taylor pulls McCoy and goes back to his old quarterback Saracen and the old offense, the "I-Formation". Saracen proceeds to lead Dillon all the way back by scoring 3 touchdowns, 1 each by passing, rushing, and receiving as the Panthers take an 28-27 lead just under 1:30 left in the game. But South Texas drives downfield and wins it on a field goal as time expires to deny Taylor and his team an improbable comeback win. Tomorrow Blues With his contract up for renewal by the school board, Taylor's job comes into question. The boosters, now run by Joe McCoy who has replaced Buddy Garrity as the richest man in Dillon, pushes handing the job to Wade Aikmen, his son's personal QB coach and interim OC of the Panthers in the wake of McGill's stroke. Realizing that McCoy is exacting revenge on his interference with Joe's family, Taylor makes a last effort at saving his job. However, during Billy Riggins and Mindy Collette's wedding, Tami breaks the news to her husband; the board offered the job to Aikmen, but offers Taylor the job of head coach at East Dillon High School, which is reopening. Characteristics Coach Taylor epitomizes the ideal football coach. He is tough, commands respect, and is an excellent motivator. But his true strength lies in his ability to connect and care for his players. As his wife puts it, he is "an educator first and a molder of men." Taylor may not always make the right decision, but he always makes them with the right intentions. He is a stabilizing influence for his young players many who need a fatherly void filled like Riggins and Saracen. Relationships Friendships Buddy Garrity The Panthers chief booster before the arrival of Joe McCoy, Garrity and Taylor don't necessarily see eye to eye, as evidenced by their disagreements in "recruiting" but they share a mutual respect for one another. Buddy even moves in with the Taylor's briefly after being kicked out by his wife Pam. Mac McGill The Panthers' longtime assistant coach who was bypassed when Taylor accepted the head coaching position, McGill is Taylor's Offensive Coordinator and a valued and respected member of the coaching staff. Joe McCoy The "King of Suds", Joe McCoy is an outlier in Dillon's town of blue-collar citizens. Initially impressed with Taylor enough to move his family from Dallas so his son could train under him, McCoy has since assumed control of the boosters and replaced Taylor with his own coach. Mitchell Street Jason Street's father, Mitchell and Taylor had a falling out when the Street's sued Taylor for Jason's injury. Family Tami Taylor Coach Taylor's wife is a strong and independent woman who often acts as his sounding board when he is pressed with a hard decision. She and the coach share a very healthy marriage that although occasionally peppered with disagreements but still rooted in love, trust, and honesty. Julie Taylor Coach's eldest daughter, Julie is romantically involved with Taylor's starting quarterback/wide receiver Matt Saracen. While she fights with her parents about normal teenage stuff, they have a very strong relationship. Gracie Belle Taylor The newest addition to the Taylor family, Gracie Belle was born in late 2006. Memorable Quotes Some of the best of Panthers' head coach Eric Taylor. Sarcastic Taylor "They all got their perps, why can't we get ours?" "I wanna get you on a college team so I don't have to see your ugly face down at the Alamo Freeze anymore." (S3: "I Knew You When") "When you see that car in our driveway, you'll be 25!" "Could you kindly tell Glen to get his hands out of my wife's icebox?" "At least she not interested in a serial killer, or one of the Riggins..." Inspirational Taylor "Life is so very fragile, We are all vulnerable. And we will all at some point in our lives, fall. We will all fall. We must cary this in our hearts. That what we have is special. That it can be taken from us, and that when it is taken from us, we will be tested. We will all be tested to our very souls. We will now all be tested. It is these times, it is this pain, that allows us to look inside ourselves." (S1: "Pilot) "You listen to me. You listen to me closer than you've ever listened to me. Remember that Rutledge game, 4th quarter? You came in and you took over that game. Play by play, you owned that game. When I watched you that day I said to myself, 'this kid's gonna go all the way'. Today God has put you in a position to do what you do best. Go all the way." (S3: Hello, Goodbye) "I jumped conclusions. I realized what happened, I was wrong. I was wrong, and I apologize. The last two weeks I've been giving you hell and not once have you come to me and complained. And then you got it where you're protecting my daughter and you're not letting me think bad of her and again you don't say a word, not a word. Let me tell you something, not as a coach, but as a father, do you realize what an honorable thing that is? That is very honorable." (S2: Jumping The Gun) "When Jason Street went down in the first game of the season, everybody wrote us off. Everybody. But here we are at the championship game. Right now, 40,000 people have also written us off. But there are some who do still believe in you, some who'll never give up on you. When you take that field, those are the people that I want in your minds. Those are the people I want in your hearts. Every man at some point in his life is gonna lose a battle. He's gonna fight and he's gonna lose. What makes him a man, is that in the midst of that battle, he does not lose himself. This game is not over. This battle is not over. So let's hear it, one more time, together. CLEAR EYES, FULL HEARTS, CAN'T LOSE! Let's go!" (S1: State) "Are we not clear that in 5 days a group of men are coming down here to destroy you? Is that, is that not clear?" (S1: Pilot)